Well-rig



. P 7, 1937. c. L. HENRY 2,092,511

WELL RIG Filed June 23, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 F/Zil. I F [6. 2.

1? 6 2,1 r E 1 i.

14 14 14 mm 5555 g? INVENTOR' BY flavw wtpfii -v flak 4 4 ATTORNEYS.

P 1937- c. L. HENRY Y 2,092,511

WELL RIG 7 Filed June 23, 1936 2 Shets-Sheet 2 FIG. 4-.

mnvsssrs ,9 1 INVENTOR.

- BY w'ebu v m {44 ATTORNEYJ.

Patented Sept. 7, 1937 PATENT OFFICE WELL-mo Charles L. Henry, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor to Lee G. Moore & 00., Inc., Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application June 23, 1936, Serial No. 86,801

3 Claims.

This invention relates to well drilling, and more particularly to oil-well rigs.

In some locations, such as in marshes or bodies of water, the drilling of oil-wells is much more expensive than in .dry ground sites. The increase in cost is due partly to the fact'that marshy or marine sites are often diflicult to reach for transporting the necessary equipment and for removing the oil, and partly to the cost of constructing foundations in the water or swampy ground for the derricks and for the drilling and pumping equipment. When several wells are being drilled in the same general location the cost arising from constructing a separate derrick foundation for each well and from erecting rigs and operating in such locations becomes exceedingly high. To avoid this trouble and expense the well holes are sometimes started in dry land, when it is possible to do so, and then by controlled inclined drilling land where expensive foundations are not needed is often offset to a large extent by increases in other costs, such as in that due to controlled directional drilling. On the other hand, in many cases dry ground is .too far from the oil-field "rickis provided that is materially widened in one direction to cause its base to define an area in which it is possible to locate the upper ends of several downwardly diverging wells that are drilled by rotary apparatus in the base of the derrick. The rotary table is moved from one position to another within the derrick base to successively drill the wells which are, most feasibly, four or five in number. Preferably, the draw-works is mounted in fixed position as usual, but the crownblock is movable laterally ,of the derrick to position it over any desired well. I

The drilling floor is a part of a substructure of sub-base on which the derrick is mounted and which in turn is supported by a suitable foundation. such as piling. In the substructure below the drilling floor is another floor which is adapted to support pumping apparatus for pumping the wells that have been brought in. Due to having two floors, the pumping of producing wells and the drilling of new wells can be carried on at the same time at different levels without inter-' ference with each other. Consequently, several wells can be drilled and pumped with the same rig without moving it from, one foundation to another, thus resulting in a considerable saving in time and money.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a. side view of the rig showing the derrick and supporting structure; Fig. 2 is an end view thereof; Fig. 3 is a plan view, taken on the line IIIIII of Fig. l, of the crown-block and supports; Fig. 4 is an enlarged plan view, taken on the line IV-IV of Fig. l, of the upper floor of the substructure with the flooring partly broken away; and Fig. 5 is an enlarged plan view, taken on the line V-V of Fig. 1, of the lower floor of the substructure, likewise with the flooring partly broken away.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawings, a tower or derrick i is formed in the usual manner from four upright corner columns or legs 2 tapering toward the top where they are connected to a rectangular frame formed from girders 3 and 4. The derrick legs are held rigidly in position the proper distance apart by a plurality of trusses formed from inter-connected braces such as angle-irons 5. It is a feature of this invention that the derrick is not square in horizontal sec tion, but has two opposite sides (Fig. 1) that are considerably wider than the remaining two sides hereinafter referred to as ends (Fig. 2). The increased width of the derrick causes its base to cover a ground area in which it is possible to locate the upper ends of several wells the lower portions of which extend outwardly away from each other to widely separated points. 7

The draw-works 6 is preferably permanently located in its usual position in the base of the derrick at one end thereof. To permit the traveling block i, suspended by dead-end line 8 from the crown-block 9 mounted on side girders 3, to be positioned over any desired well, the crownblock is adapted to be moved longitudinally of its supporting girders, shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. This can be done in any convenient manner, such as by skidding it along the girders.

It is another feature of this invention that the floor ll of the derrick is supported by the upper Sub-base l3 preferably comprises a very strong and rigid framework, of metal girders, beams and braces, having upper and lower floor-supporting portions l2 and [6, respectively, spaced apart at their corners -by reinforced columns I'I. As shown in Fig. 2, the lower floor-supporting portion I6 is provided with beams l8 projecting outwardly beyond the sides of the drilling floor support to which the ends of the beams are connected by inclined braces l9. This construction increases the area of the lower floor'2l and also strengthens the entire substructure. The drilling floor is substantially the same size. and shape as the base of the derrick, and the feet of the derrick are mounted on the tops of columns II at the corners of the floor. The lower floor is far enough below the drilling floor to permit the unobstructed use of pumping equipment thereon.

Projecting outwardly from the draw-works end of the substructure is a bracket 22, shown in Figs. 1 and 4, the top of which is preferably on a level with floor-supporting portion l2 of the substructure. It is on this bracket that the engine (not shown) for driving the draw-works is preferably mounted. I

To drill a plurality of wells with this rig, each well is started straight down in the usual manner by rotary drilling apparatus, and then by controlled inclined drilling the bottom of the well is located wherever desired. The upper portions of the wells are so located that when all are drilled, their upper ends, indicated by characters 26 in Figs. 4 and 5, are spaced as close together as practicable, and preferably in a substantially straight line extending the long way of the derrick and drilling floor. The number of wells that canbe drilled with a rig of this type in one location depends upon how close together their upper portions can be situated, and also upon the size of the substructure and the base of the derrick. For practical purposes it is not preferred to construct a derrick and substructure larger than required for drilling a group of four or five wells. Four wells permit the field to be explored in the four principal directions, which should be sufficient.

The drilling floor and the pumping floor are provided with vertically aligned openings 21 and 28, respectively, through which the drilling and pumping operations. are carried on. These openings can be of any shape and size found desirable. To provide additional support for the rotary drilling table (not shown) on the drilling floor, a pair of steel beams 29 is preferably mounted at the sides of one of the openings 21 on a pair of crossbeams 3| forming a part of the top of the substructure. When the two wells between the beams 28 have been drilled, they are slid lengthwise into position at the sides of the other open- 1 ing 21. By using beams 28 which are only long enough to extend along one opening 21 steel is saved, but, if desired, they can be made long enough to extend along the sides of all four wells.

It is preferred to use only one rotary table and therefore to drill one well at a time. The table can be driven in any convenient manner, for example, by a. chain operatively connected to an engine on engine bracket 22. In such a case the chain can be of variable length, or a difl'erent chain can be used for each new location of the rotary table.

By the use of a well-rig constructed in accordance with this invention several wells can be drilled in a marshyv or marine location more cheaply, easily and quickly than they could have been heretofore. The saving in money is due principally to the use of the same rig foundation for the several wells instead of a separate foundation at each well. The derrick itself is less expensive than several derricks, one for each well, while if a single regulation derrick were used and rebuilt at each well the cost of tearing it down and rebuilding it would be more than the cost of the rig disclosed herein.

It is likewise easier to construct such a rig and to drill and pump several wells therefrom than it is to erect a derrick over each of several wells and drill and pump at each location separately. Furthermore; the present invention leads to more rapid operations because the erection of the rig and the drilling and pumping of the several wells is concentrated in one location, while pumping of the wells that have been brought in can be carried on at the same time that new wells are being drilled without the two operations interfering with each other.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, I have explained the principle and mode of operation of my invention, and have illustrated and described what I now consider to be its best embodiment. However, I desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

I claim:

1. In combination, a well derrick tower, a substructure supporting said tower and comprising a pair of vertically spaced floors, the upper floor being adapted to support equipment for drilling aplurality of wells below said substructure, and the lower floor being adapted to support equipment adapted to pump said wells, means mounted in the top portion of said tower for supporting a crownblock, and a crown-block mounted on said means and adapted to be'moved thereon laterally of said tower to position it over any one of said well holes.

2. In combination, a framework having vertically spaced drilling and pumping floors covering an area of ground adapted to receive a plurality of well holes disposed in horizontally spaced relation in a substantially straight line, a well derrick tower mounted on the top of said framework, means mounted in the top portion of said tower for supporting a crown-block, a crown-block mounted on said means, draw-works mounted in the base of the tower, a cable extending from said draw-works over said crown-block, a traveling block carried by said cable in the tower, and a bracket connected to said framework and projecting outwardly therefrom and adapted to support an engine for driving said draw-works, said crown-block being movable along said supporting means in a line substantially parallel to said well holes to position said traveling block over any desired hole.

3. In combination, a framework having vertically spaced drilling and pumping floors covering an area of ground adapted to receive a plurality of well holes disposed in horizontally spaced relation, a well derrick tower mounted on said framework, means disposed in the top portion of said tower for supporting a crown-block, and a crownblock mounted on said means and adapted to support a traveling block, said crown-block being CHARLES L. HENRY. 

